Response to King unimpressive

Published Friday, November 02, 2001

NEW YORK -- Five storytellers are the winners of the Stephen King "On Writing" contest.

"On Writing," a memoir by King released last fall, encouraged readers to send him writing samples. No cash prizes were offered, but on Thursday the winners got their names, and their work, posted on King's Web site.

The author himself included a statement saying he had received more than 1,000 entries.

"Not many of them were good, but that didn't surprise me either. What did surprise me -- a little -- was how many could have been good if the people who wrote them had tried just a little harder, or had brushed up their skills a little bit before trying their hands at what I think of as the Dick and Jane story," King said.

"I should add that quite a few were, frankly, abysmal. I am not posting any samples of these. I have always believed that it's very bad form (not to mention unsporting), to shoot cripples."

'Potter' star needs voice double

LONDON -- Makers of the much-anticipated Harry Potter film called in a voice double after its star's voice broke during filming, a British newspaper reported Thursday.

The Sun said London schoolboy Joe Sowerbutts was hired to dub two scenes for 12-year-old star Daniel Radcliffe in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which is being released in Britain under the title "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

A seasoned actor who has appeared in British Broadcasting Corp. productions, Sowerbutts spent one day recording at Shepperton Studios, near London.

"It was a great honor for me," he told the newspaper.

Sowerbutts -- who, like thousands of other children, auditioned for the Potter film -- also provides the boy wizard's voice on Nintendo and PlayStation Harry Potter games, the newspaper said.

The movie opens Nov. 16 in the United States.

Crawford working with Babystyle.com

NEW YORK -- Supermodel Cindy Crawford is collaborating on the designs for Babystyle.com, an online maternity site.

The maternity site began selling its upscale fashions this week at four Bloomingdale's stores, including the company's New York flagship. The company, which also distributes its own catalog, has plans to roll out the collection at other retailers.

About 150 people showed up for Crawford's hour-long appearance at Bloomingdale's New York store on Tuesday night.

Finding maternity clothes "can be so overwhelming," said the 35-year-old Crawford, who has two young children. "It's like a subculture."

She's the spokeswoman for eStyle, the umbrella company that markets Babystyle.com and Kidstyle.com, which sells toddlers' clothes and toys.